@timbray@cosocial.ca
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

timbray

@timbray@cosocial.ca

Web geek and environmentalist with a camera at the bottom left corner of Canada. He/him.

These posts are coming from a member-owned cooperative: https://cosocial.info

My posts are searchable and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

timbray, to random
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

This article is rambling and diverges into pomo critical theory: https://theluddite.org/#!post/ai-hype

But these two paragraphs hit me hard.

timbray, to random
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

GitHub Actions currently hurting, nobody can release any software this morning: https://www.githubstatus.com/incidents/nj47vccwm2zj

clive, (edited ) to random
@clive@saturation.social avatar

People of Mastodon!

I'm researching the growth of ebikes ...

... in cities around the US

I've talked to many people who love them!

But also want to include the perspective of folks who have concerns ...

... i.e. about the speed and weight of ebikes in accidents with pedestrians or other cyclists, and the like

If anyone has thoughts they wanna share, ping me! I'm all ears: clive@clivethompson.net

Pass this along if you know anyone else with perspective they want to share

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@clive I both drive and e-bike often, sometimes both on the same day. I have not noticed a significant difference in the proportion of bad drivers vs that of bad bikers. Obviously bad drivers inflict a much higher cost in damage, injury, and death. The distinction between power-assist e-bikes and actual powered vehicles with a throttle is crucial. I see very few e-bikers going too fast, but I see scooters, hoverboards, and fat-tired powered-bikes going scary-fast regularly.

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@clive And the environmental-cost trade-off is not remotely close. e-bikes are insanely less carbon-costly than EVs and of course ICE cars.

And, um, please try to avoid both-sides-ing this. I love my car, but increasing the proportion of travel that relies on e-bikes would be unambiguously good for the world and its people and other creatures.

Final point: E-bike is empowering for 60+ people like me.

cheeaun, to threads
@cheeaun@mastodon.social avatar

Screenshots comparing columns UI between Threads.net and Phanpy.social

A screenshot of a Phanpy social media feed. The interface shows three main columns: Following, FediDevs (list), and Notifications (showing recent interactions and messages).

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@cheeaun Everything here is a matter of taste, no? Your presentation is definitely more information-dense, which is good (see Tufte). A lot of people won’t even notice but that’s OK.

BTW I notice that phanpy sometimes says "Home" and sometimes "Following" for the same thing. Should I file an issue? (I prefer Following but consistency is good.)

futurebird, to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

E-bikes are very cool and I'm glad they are getting popular.

However.

There is a big difference between a crash at 12mph and one at 20mph.

Your ebike can give you injuries normally only found in motorcycle accidents. And there isn't enough advice on what constitutes sufficient maintenance for ebikes.

If you don't get balding tires fixed on a regular bike you could fall off and bruise or break a leg.

At ebike speeds that same fall will shatter your leg in dozens of pieces.

BE CAREFUL

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@futurebird Also bear in mind that bikes generally have poor braking power, terrifyingly poor on wet pavement.

timbray, to cryptocurrency
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

It’s nauseating that the hyperscalers are crankin’ the carbon to inflate the AI bubble like there’s no tomorrow (which there won’t be, for my children, if we don’t cut back) but hey, don’t forget that Bitcoin is still in the running for the single most dangerous-to-the-planet use of computers.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/15/24157496/microsoft-ai-carbon-footprint-greenhouse-gas-emissions-grow-climate-pledge

#cryptocurrency #genai

timbray, to random
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

In which I discover that one of my favorite authors was blindingly racist, but conflicted in interesting ways, and publish many words about the different flavors of racism: https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2024/05/17/Colors-of-Racism

timbray, to random
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

Shorter Cory Doctorow (@pluralistic): Workers Of The World Unite!

He’s got a point: https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/112474566929542266

tess, to random
@tess@mastodon.social avatar

I want to be more active in different discussions on here but don't want to dump irrelevant stuff onto everyone or make additional accounts. I wish we could have different personas or sub-profiles, so I could read a single TL but post to different feeds that could be subscribed separately.

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@tess I disagree pretty strongly. One of the nice things about social media is that people are more wholly present in the conversation, not just a voice for some company or club or whatever. Obviously some people have vulnerabilities that make it absolutely necessary to segment their presence. But it’s nice when people don’t have to.

3TomatoesShort, to random
@3TomatoesShort@disabled.social avatar

If I wanted to get a little camera specifically so I could take better photos of my garden birds - so optical zoom being a big requirement I guess - does anyone have knowledgeable thoughts on whether this would be a decent choice?
I don't think I want the learning curve or the cost of a DSLR 🤷🏼‍♀️
https://www.camerahouse.com.au/kodak-fz55-friendly-zoom-blue

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@3TomatoesShort It's hard to buy something that will take better pictures than your phone, assuming you have a phone less than 5yrs or so old.

I have a suggestion: Go on eBay and buy a used Sony RX100. It'll be immensely better than that Kodak.

marcusjenkins, to fujifilm
@marcusjenkins@mastodon.social avatar

Fujifilm fans: Have we reached peak Fujifilm? Their mirrorless cameras have all been SO good over the last ten years that any photographer could pick any of them up and be in control of their image right away. Great handling, great user interface, great sensors. I look at the X100VI and the X-T50 and think, meh, so what? (And, bloody hell, that's a LOT of money!)

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@marcusjenkins Lots of room for improvement on the autofocus. They're way behind Sony, Canon, etc. Weatherproofing is also second-rate.

Not in crazy about the x-t50 dedicating a whole dial to film simulations.

I mean, I love them, they're what I use.

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@marcusjenkins @masayuki60 Me too! Also, the Pentax weatherproofing is excellent. I shot thousands of pictures with the 40mm pancake.

voxpopsicle, to vancouver
@voxpopsicle@mastodon.social avatar

Well that's a first. Attacked by a seemingly unhealthy rat on a sidewalk in East Van. Had to kick it away a few times, reported it to the city. Keep your eyes open people!

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@voxpopsicle If it managed to injure you, get yourself medical attention immediately. Sounds like rabies.

carnage4life, to random
@carnage4life@mas.to avatar

I’ve had mixed feelings about manager readme. On one hand I do a verbal version in my first meeting with new collaborators to let them know I communicate directly but mean well.

OTOH, the power dynamic as a manager can read as a list of flaws your team has to put up with.

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@carnage4life If I had a manager who couldn't be effective before 3PM I'd leave that team. Is he serious?

Green_Footballs, to random
@Green_Footballs@mastodon.social avatar

I wonder if Google realizes what a complete fucking shitstorm they’re about to unleash on the internet if Chrome suddenly stops supporting all 3rd party cookies. As they’ve promised to do in the 2nd half of 2024.

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@Green_Footballs I'm thinking the whole AdTech universe has been preparing for this for a long time. Everybody knew it was coming, no?

timbray, to random
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

Yeah, I uninstalled Telegram a while back, and recommend doing so. I don’t think it could compromise my Android device but there’s good reason to think it might try.

https://infosec.exchange/@briankrebs/112465003153698905

chris, to canucks
@chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.ca avatar

I love questionable goalie decisions by the other team....
https://channels.im/@lovenhl/112464086089581892

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@chris That's just weird.

waldoj, to random
@waldoj@mastodon.social avatar

Heat pumps and induction ranges are two strong examples of products that are better environmentally and better products than their gas/oil competitors, for almost everybody. (EVs will get there, but they’re not there yet.)

Because carbon emissions are free, it’s important that low-emission new products be clearly better than the polluting status quo. It’s a high bar, it’s not fair, but I’m glad we have heat pumps and induction ranges as a model.

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@waldoj @nlpbot With respect, I disagree. I'm old, drove ICE cars for decades. Have driven an EV for 5 years, would never consider going back. On the charging infrastructure you have a point - if you're the person who regularly travels 1000 km to random destinations, much is still missing. (I'm not that kind of person.) On the other hand, with an L2 charger at home, the cost and annoyance savings of never visiting a gas station is massive.

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@waldoj Don't forget E-Bikes, another strong example, especially for those of us who are not young.

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@glennf @waldoj @nlpbot For those of us with the undeserved good fortune to have a property including a parking spot, the economics of L2 are a complete no-brainer. One of the biggest EV obstacles is people in condos with a regressive HOA, and even with a good HOA some condos have architecture issues that make the cost horribly high. I think there’s an opening for some tech innovation there?

timbray, (edited ) to random
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

Your reaction to the AI buzz:

timbray, to random
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

Mastodon instance tuning, live-posted on Mastodon:
https://cosocial.ca/@mick/112459768599992790

timbray, to random
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

I'm shocked - SHOCKED - that the #1 vendor of artists' tools is oblivious to artists' concerns about GenAI.

https://petapixel.com/2024/05/18/adobes-ceo-is-just-not-on-the-same-wavelength-as-artists/

paulehoffman, to random
@paulehoffman@mastodon.social avatar

Even though it's Flame Friday, I'd prefer calm and reasoned responses to this question.

I often set up boring CLI-based Linux hosts to do minor server things at a VM provider. They let me choose between images of up-to-date Debian and Ubuntu (among other distros with which I am much less familiar). Is one noticeably better than the other; if so, why?

timbray,
@timbray@cosocial.ca avatar

@paulehoffman Historically Ubuntu has had more bells and whistles and stuff, but Debian has never in my experience failed to have anything I need. Less is more.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • megavids
  • thenastyranch
  • magazineikmin
  • osvaldo12
  • cubers
  • mdbf
  • Youngstown
  • tacticalgear
  • slotface
  • rosin
  • kavyap
  • ethstaker
  • everett
  • khanakhh
  • JUstTest
  • DreamBathrooms
  • InstantRegret
  • normalnudes
  • GTA5RPClips
  • tester
  • ngwrru68w68
  • cisconetworking
  • modclub
  • Durango
  • Leos
  • provamag3
  • anitta
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •